🚨 White House Press Briefing LIVE Right Now With Karoline Leavitt, Bombshell Epstein Documents
Karoline Leavitt breaks down a chaotic Capitol Hill hearing where Trump officials face demands like ICE body cameras and mask mandates amid shutdown risks tied to DHS funding. Legal wins in California clash with Epstein files revealing Trump’s alleged 2006 remark, "thank goodness you're stopping him," while Republicans resist absentee ballot restrictions. Trump’s infrastructure renaming push stalls, but he doubles down on border policies—blocking the Gordy Howe Bridge despite prior support—and praises DHS Secretary Christine Nowinski’s wall progress. Economic highlights include record-low murder rates, $50K+ Dow Jones, and a $1M+ child savings plan, yet controversies like "gender mutilation" opposition and border enforcement persist, framing his legacy as both polarizing and policy-driven. [Automatically generated summary]
Hey, good morning to you, Lawrence Bryan and Aiden Inslee.
Basically, this morning, it's going to be a big deal on Capitol Hill because you've got the first time these leaders from the Trump administration heading up this immigration crackdown, facing lawmakers on the Hill.
And we're expecting fireworks.
So take a look.
These are the three people we can expect today to testify.
ICE Director Todd Lyons, CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott, and Joseph Edlow, the Director of Immigration.
And they'll be questioned by Democrats like Eric Swalwell and Dan Goldman, two congressmen who want to strip qualified immunity from ICE.
Also, Congressman Tanadar, who wants to abolish ICE altogether.
Meanwhile, we are heading for another partial government shutdown as the two parties are still fighting over DHS reforms.
Democrats still want those body cameras, they want masks to come off, and they want judicial warrants in their list of 10 demands.
Schumer and Jeffries, the two Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, put out this statement.
Republicans shared an outline of a counterproposal which included neither details nor legislative text.
The initial GOP response is both incomplete and insufficient in terms of addressing the concerns Americans have about ICE lawless conduct.
Democrats await additional detail and text.
Republicans say Democrats' demands are unserious.
The Democrats are serious about finding a solution here.
They may need to find more time to bring these efforts to a productive conclusion.
So the funding deadline is this Friday.
That was a Democrat demand.
They didn't want to fund TSA.
They didn't want to fund Secret Service.
They don't want to fund FEMA.
They don't want to fund any of those if they also cut off funding to ICE.
Now, President Trump is clocking two court wins out in California, an appeals court temporarily lifting a block on ending deportation protections for migrants from Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua.
Also, another win, a federal judge blocking California from enforcing ICE masks, the ban.
A.G. Bondi, Pam Bondi, tweeting this, as the court found the government is likely to prevail in its argument that ending temporary protective status for some immigrants is sound and lawful policy.
We do not expect to see the president today.
He's got some meetings that are closed door, but we do have a White House briefing on tap for one o'clock this afternoon.
Not a yes, sir, not a follower.
Sit the box, hit the moan, have a seat.
[long gap]
Tax Cuts and Refunds00:07:12
He and I were both reviewing the newly released surveillance footage from FBI in the Savannah Guthrie case on just this heartbreaking situation with respect to her mother.
The president encourages any American across the country with any knowledge of this suspect to please call the FBI, who continue to assist state and local authorities who are leading this investigation on the ground.
And once again, I will reiterate that the prayers of this entire White House are with Savannah and her family at this time.
And we hope this person is found soon and that her mother is brought home safely.
President Trump has a very busy week ahead, so I will begin with some scheduling announcements today.
Tomorrow, here at the White House, the President will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a bilateral meeting.
The remainder of the week will be focused on energy and deregulation.
Tomorrow afternoon, the president will hold an event in the East Room to tout clean, beautiful coal as America's most reliable and affordable energy source, especially during periods of peak demand, just as we saw during this most recent winter storm, which impacted hundreds of millions of Americans.
The president will discuss how clean, beautiful coal is not only keeping the lights on in our country, but also driving down the cost of electricity across the country as well.
Additionally, on Thursday, President Trump will be joined by Administrator Lee Zeldin to formalize the rescission of the 2009 Obama-era endangerment finding.
This will be the largest deregulatory action in American history, and it will save the American people $1.3 trillion in crushing regulations.
The bulk of the savings will stem from reduced costs for new vehicles with the bulk of the savings will stem from reduced costs for new vehicles, with the EPA projecting average per-vehicle savings of more than $2,400 for popular light-duty cars, SUVs, and trucks.
This is just one more way this administration is working to make life more affordable for everyday Americans.
Overall, these groundbreaking actions from President Trump will drive larger economic growth, create thousands of good-paying jobs, expand manufacturing, increase consumer choice, and improve affordability for millions of families and businesses.
Finally, on Friday, President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will travel to Fort Bragg in the great state of North Carolina to meet with military families and the heroic members of our special forces who carried out the successful Operation Absolute Resolve in Venezuela and helped bring narco-terrorist Nicolas Maduro to justice.
I know the President and First Lady are both greatly looking forward to this visit.
Also, the First Lady will celebrate Valentine's Day at the Children's Inn at the National Institute of Health tomorrow with children, families, and NIH staff involved in clinical trials.
In other news this week, thanks to President Trump signing the largest middle-class tax cut in history, this is shaping up to be the biggest tax refund season ever, and we are in it now.
President Trump and Republicans fundamentally believe that Americans deserve to keep more of their hard-earned money, not less, which is why he fought so hard to deliver this long-overdue relief.
From no tax on tips, overtime, or Social Security, to auto loan interest deductions on new American-made vehicles, plus increases to the standard deduction in child tax credit, more money is flowing back into the pockets of hardworking Americans.
We're already hearing from everyday Americans across the country who are reporting substantial tax savings thanks to the Working Families Tax Cut, which every single Democrat in Congress voted against.
AMAC, which represents millions of Americans, has heard directly from more than their thousand members already about how the Trump tax cuts are easing cost of living concerns.
I wanted to share a few of those powerful responses with you today.
This one comes from Dean and Wendy in Wisconsin, who says, Instead of paying out $3,700 last year, we got back $2,500 in refunds this year.
This is huge for our family.
Steve from California said, quote, the new senior citizen deduction is a tremendous relief and has given us peace of mind and the freedom to truly enjoy the retirement years we worked so hard for.
Eric from Nevada said, as a senior, no tax on Social Security helps me tremendously.
The no tax on tips helps my daughter-in-law as a waitress.
The no tax on overtime helps my son, who works constantly.
Our family savings from the One Big Beautiful bill could total even more than $5,000.
We love the Trump tax cuts.
These are just a few positive examples of the everyday Americans that President Trump's tax cuts are uplifting.
We'd love to hear more from the American people across the country who are benefiting from the working families' tax cuts.
The White House is also pleased to share that parents across the country can now officially apply to open a Trump account for their child.
In order to apply, parents can visit trumpaccounts.gov and fill out the IRS form 4547.
These Trump accounts are special investment accounts aimed at providing American children with a jumpstart on building wealth for life.
They have all the tax advantages as a traditional IRA account, but are specifically tailored to build wealth the moment a child is born.
Thanks to President Trump, every child born between January 1st, 2025 and December 31st, 2028 is eligible to receive $1,000 from the U.S. Treasury to fund their account.
Parents, guardians, and even nonprofits can then contribute up to $5,000 per year.
Employers can also contribute up to $2,500 per year per employee.
President Trump believes there is no better investment than investing in our nation's children.
If you are a parent who maximizes contributions to your child's Trump account, its projected value could reach nearly $1.1 million by the time your child turns 28 years old based on average historical stock market returns.
Safe to say, the Trump accounts will give a substantial head start to position the next generation for a brighter future.
And with the stock market exploding under President Trump's pro-growth policies, there has never been a better time to sign up for an investment account like this.
The Dow Jones just shattered 50,000 for the first time ever on Friday, and the SP 500 and the NASDAQ continue smashing record after record.
So with President Trump in charge, Americans' 401ks and retirement savings are booming once again, and these new Trump accounts for America's kids will boom too.
So with that, once again, every parent should go to trumpaccounts.gov today, and I'm going to put it on my own personal to-do list to sign up for one as well.
President's Economic Update00:15:00
With that, I will take your questions.
Caroline Downey from the National Review is here.
Thank you for being here, and why don't you kick us off?
Thank you for having me.
On the criticism that immigration enforcement has become arbitrary or not particularly prioritizing, Democrats have been circulating this statistic that only 14% of illegal aliens arrested under this administration are violent criminals, but we know that in deep blue cities with progressive district attorneys, it's common to plead down serious violent crimes into less serious offenses, which could be destroying those numbers.
So given that backdrop, does the administration still stand by the messaging that you're targeting the worst of the worst?
And does this prevailing narrative tell the whole story?
Well, thank you for bringing this up, Caroline.
I've seen this CBS report floating around.
There's a lot of liberal talking heads and pundits and Democrat elected politicians who think that this single story and these statistics and the way they are painted is somehow a shot at this administration.
It is not.
And let me correct the record.
Number one, the Trump administration has been clear from day one that any illegal alien present in this country is subject to deportation.
However, the priority, of course, is going after the convicted criminals, the worst of the worst, the murderers, the pedophiles, the rapists in this country.
Interestingly, in the CBS story, what the Democrat talking heads on television are not saying is this line.
Nearly 60% of ICE arrestees over the past year had criminal charges or convictions.
And among that population, the majority of the criminal charges or convictions are for nonviolent crimes.
Oh, well, what are nonviolent crimes, you ask?
This has coincided with what DHS has been saying all along, that approximately 70% of illegal aliens arrested under President Trump have pending criminal charges and or prior convictions.
And these so-called nonviolent crimes, drug trafficking, distribution of child porn, burglary, fraud, DUI, embezzlement, solicitation of a minor, and human smuggling, just to name a few.
So just because a crime is not violent in nature doesn't mean that crime is victimless.
And I can guarantee every single person who is out there on television right now pointing to these statistics that were taken out of context by CBS News would not want an illegal alien convicted of the distribution of child porn or fraud or DUI living in your community.
So the Trump administration will continue our focus on deporting all illegal aliens present in our country with a focus on the worst of the worst criminals.
Thank you for being here.
Gabe.
Caroline, thank you.
And thank you for the update on our colleague Savannah Guthrie's mother.
Is there anything more you can share?
You said the president was reviewing that surveillance footage.
What was his initial reaction when seeing those disturbing images?
And does he believe that that suspect acted alone?
I haven't talked to him specifically about the second point on whether the suspect acted alone or not.
So I don't want to weigh in on the president's thinking on that.
His initial reaction, of course, as all Americans is just pure disgust.
And again, it's heartbreaking to see now this footage really bring to life a story we've all been reading about.
And again, we're just praying for the safety of Nancy Guthrie and that she will return home soon.
And the president directed me to please encourage all Americans with any information to call the FBI.
And we hope that this case will come to a positive resolution as soon as possible.
We, of course, have a lot to talk about and a completely separate topic.
I was hoping you can clarify something that's come up over the last several days, but again, regarding a separate topic in the Epstein files.
According to newly released files, the president had a conversation with the Palm Beach Police Chief in the early 2000s, according to the police chief in 2019.
The president has gone on record before and he's told reporters that he said that Jeffrey Epstein, he had no idea about Jeffrey Epstein's crimes.
During this conversation with the police chief, however, he did say, according to this recounting of it, that thank goodness you're stopping him.
He also called it the lane Maxwell evil.
My two questions are, did that conversation with the Palm Beach Police Chief happen?
And can you explain the discrepancy?
What I will say is that the president has always remained consistent and that he kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club at Mar-a-Lago because frankly Jeffrey Epstein was a creep.
And unlike many other people who are named in these files, President Trump cut off his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and was honest and transparent about that for years and years.
And so I think what the president has said all along has always remained true.
And the release of more than 3 million documents related to Jeffrey Epstein and his heinous, disgusting crimes just shows the level of transparency that this president and administration has committed to in bringing these files to light.
But did he call the chief in 2006?
Caroline, did he call the chief?
Look, it was a phone call that may or may not have happened in 2006.
I don't know the answer to that question.
What I'm telling you is that what President Trump has always said is that he kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago club because Jeffrey Epstein was a creep, and that remains true.
And this call, if it did happen, corroborates exactly what President Trump has said from the beginning.
And I'm sure many of you, when you read that alleged FBI report, probably thought to yourself, wow, this really cracks our narrative that we've been trying to push about this president for many years.
So we're moving on from that.
Reagan.
Thanks, Caroline.
I want to ask you about the SAVE Act.
NBC reported that there's some hesitation among House Republicans on adding absentee ballot restrictions into the SAVE Act.
Can you explain what the hesitation is among House Republicans and also just provide the status of the negotiations with Congress on the legislation?
Sure.
I can't speak for House Republicans, Reagan.
I can obviously speak for the President, who is quite possibly the strongest supporter of the Save America Act, which, as you know, would require proof of citizenship to register to vote.
It would require proof of identification, a photo identification before casting a ballot.
And it would also ensure that there are exceptions made.
I think that's what you're alluding to with these conversations with House Republicans for reasonable requests, of course, for our military for individuals who are disabled and cannot make it to the polls.
Those are reasonable common sense things that I believe House Republicans are discussing amongst themselves.
But as for the president, he's been very clear.
He wants House Republicans and Democrats too, if they were politically wise, to pass this legislation, for the Senate to pass it, to send it to the President's desk so it can be signed into law.
I'm wondering when the last time the president spoke to Leader Thun was and if he discussed using the standing filibuster to pass legislation.
The president has given his position on the standing filibuster.
As for his most recent conversation with Leader Thune, frankly, I'm not sure.
I do know they speak very frequently.
The president's in constant communication with both Leader Thun and the House Speaker, Mike Johnson.
Stephen.
I see we switched up our seating chart.
Your direct line of sight now.
Congratulations.
Thank you for the Forest Response Association for recognizing the New York Post breach.
I've got two questions for you.
One about the Guthrie case and then another about infrastructure.
On the Guthrie case, does President Trump have a warning to the culprits here about what would happen to them, what federal consequences they would face if they did not release Nancy Guthrie unharmed?
I think anyone who was involved in this depraved crime, this abduction, of course, we want to be seen held to the fullest extent of the law possible.
Infrastructure, can you explain why President Trump asked Chuck Schumer to help him rename Penn Station and Dulles Airport after himself?
Why is he interested in having his name on those two buildings?
And why are the gateway tunnel funds the proper point of pressure to get that to act?
To your first question about the renaming, why not?
It was something the president floated in his conversation with Chuck Schumer.
As for the funding, the president has addressed that separately himself.
Danny.
Thanks, Caroline.
Today, the vice president's account posted and then deleted a tweet about the Armenian genocide.
And then last week, President Trump's Truth Social account posted and then deleted a racist video about the Obamas.
And the White House again blamed that on staffer.
I wanted to ask you, does the White House have a social media problem at the moment?
Do you have an auto-posting problem that's leading to these mistakes?
No.
As for the Armenian tweet that you're referring to, I would just refer you back to the White House's message that was issued on Armenian Remembrance Day, and there's been no change of policy at this time.
Mary.
Thanks, Caroline.
When the President goes to Beijing in this morning, does he have plans to try and advocate on behalf of Jimmy Lai, who was just sentenced to 20 years yesterday?
This is something I've heard the president advocate for both publicly and privately.
I had the honor of being in that meeting with President Trump and President Xi in South Korea that took place, and this was brought up by the President himself.
It is important to him, and he looks forward to visiting China in April.
Caroline.
Go ahead.
Thanks, Caroline.
So some Republican lawmakers from Nebraska have said they're worried that the Argentinian beef executive order will sideline some American ranchers.
How will Trump administration make sure prices go down for consumers without harming those ranch?
Of course.
Both things can happen at the same time.
That's the president's belief.
He wants to see prices come down.
In fact, I just overheard him on the phone with Secretary Rollins.
They were talking about something different, but he's always saying we've got to make sure that prices continue to come down.
As you know, Secretary Rollins successfully did that with respect to egg prices.
Beef prices are coming down slightly, and the president wants to see that continue.
He believes that a minor import to the country with cattle might be a short-term solution with respect to bringing down prices.
But of course, protecting our American cattle and rancher industry is a priority for the president, and he's in touch with those stakeholders.
We've had them here at the White House a few times in recent months to discuss this issue directly.
John.
Thanks a lot, Caroline.
Yesterday, the President on social media threatened to block the new Gordy Howe Bridge, which would connect Detroit to Canada.
This is a bridge that was fully paid for by Canada.
It used American labor to construct it.
It used American steel to construct that bridge.
The president in 2017 was actually in favor of this bridge, part of a joint statement that he put out when he met with the Canadian Prime Minister.
Why has the president changed his mind as it relates to this bridge?
I think the president was very clear and direct in his truth, John.
But just to reiterate, the fact that Canada will control what crosses the Gordy Howe Bridge and owns the land on both sides is unacceptable to the president.
It's also unacceptable that more of this bridge isn't being built with more American-made materials, even more so than what President Barack Obama committed to with the Canadians at the time at the start of the project.
He also believes that the U.S. should own at least half of the bridge, have shared authority over what passes across it, and participate in the economic benefits generated by its use.
This is just another example of President Trump putting America's interests first.
And so he made that very clear in his call with Prime Minister Kearney earlier today.
Phil.
Thank you, Caroline.
DHS Secretary Christy Now just posted a photo of herself signing the last contract in Scale to build a border wall between Laredo, Del Rio, and Big Bend, Texas, among reports that construction had stalled.
Is the president satisfied with the pace of construction?
The president wants to make sure that the full border wall is built as quickly as possible, of course.
I know this is a priority for him dating back to 2016.
And so absolutely, he wants to ensure that the border wall is built under budget and ahead of schedule is how President Trump likes to view building projects, and that includes the border wall.
I think the president is never satisfied.
He always wants to ensure that things are moving along as quickly as possible.
But I know Secretary Noam is on it and she's doing a great job.
You're welcome.
Sure.
Go ahead.
Thank you.
On the Nancy Guthrie case, is the President satisfied with the federal and local investigation so far?
And has there been any more contact from the White House or the President with the family?
I don't think anybody will be satisfied until this case is brought to a close and until Nancy Guthrie is returned home safely with her loved ones.
I'm not sure what contacts.
Has the president contacted the family since?
Not since that initial phone call.
Sure.
Tamara.
Thank you.
The National Governors Association is removing a meeting with President Trump from his agenda because only Republicans were invited.
Is the White House reconsidering inviting Democrats or do you think Republicans are still going to show up?
Like, where does that stand now?
No, look, I just spoke with the President about this.
It is a dinner at the White House.
It's the people's house.
It's also the President's home.
And so he can invite whomever he wants to dinners and events here at the White House.
I believe Governor Moore was invited last year and he did not show up to the dinner last year.
Nobody reported on it.
But again, the president has the discretion to invite whomever he wants to the White House and he welcomes all those who received an invitation to come.
And if they don't want to, that's their loss.
And on Ghislaine Maxwell, is the president going to rule out a pardon for her?
In her testimony deposition yesterday, her legal team seemed to be making a case again for a pardon from the president.
Again, this is not something I've discussed with the president recently because, frankly, it's not a priority.
He's focused on many of the issues that the American people are dealing with and providing solutions to those issues.
So I haven't spoken with him recently.
Last time we did speak about it, he said it's not something he's considering or thinking about.
Go ahead, Bloomberg.
Thanks, Caroline.
Secretary Luttnick today was testifying on the Hill, and he said that he had visited Epstein's Island in 2012 with his wife and children.
And that's after he said that he had cut ties with Epstein.
And the Justice Department documents show that he was in contact with Epstein through 2018 over messages.
So does the White House stand behind Secretary Luttnick right now?
Or given what he has said today, has there been any shift in how the White House is viewing Secretary Lutnick's performance?
No, Secretary Luttnick remains a very important member of President Trump's team and the president fully supports the Secretary.
I will just point out that there are a lot of wins in the news this week that people in this room have not asked about because you continue to ask questions about the same subject.
Benefits Bringing Liberty To Life00:03:18
So let me point them out for you.
Again, on Friday, the Dow shattered 50,000 for the first time ever.
This week, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons came out in opposition to gender mutilation surgeries for children.
They are the first major medical group to do so.
A federal appeals court today, nobody asked about that, just upheld the Trump administration's policy of detaining illegal aliens, validating the strong measures that have driven illegal crossings to historic lows, and sent a crystal clear message that under President Trump, if you enter the country illegally, you will be detained and removed.
The murder rate, again, not a single question about this, has plunged to a 125-year low as crime falls across the board thanks to President Trump's crime crackdown.
We also saw this week national median rents have fallen to a four-year low following six consecutive monthly declines, and mortgage affordability has surged to a four-year high.
Home ownership is the core foundation principle of the American dream.
And I will repeat that mortgage affordability this week surged to a four-year high, but not a single have mention of that in this briefing room today.
And again, this came out last Friday, but for an unprecedented ninth straight month, there were zero illegal border crossings at the southern border.
So we're going to get back to business.
The president is very busy today, and you will see him all tomorrow at the event in the East Room touting his administration's energy policy.
Thank you.
The benefits here, bringing liberty to life.
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